ABC/Randy Holmes(NEW YORK) -- Fathers, family, and the battle for holiday supremacy: Daddy's Home 2 takes a funny look at the most wonderful time of the year. The sequel to the 2015 original stars Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg -- this time dealing with their over-the-top dads, played by John Lithgow and Mel Gibson. Lithgow tells ABC Radio that he has plenty of experience in that department.

"Mel and I are granddads," he explains. "We have survived fatherhood, and our kids have survived childhood with us as dads. It is a ridiculous role being a father. You know, you try so hard and you never get it entirely right."

What did catch the 72-year-old actor off guard was Gibson's talent for comedy. "He’s funny on screen, he’s funny as a person. There is no joke that you can tell him that he doesn’t know the punchline," he says.

"The other thing about Mel, you know, the last thing he did was directing Hacksaw Ridge," adds Lithgow. "He came from such a grim, tortured drama to do this and it was the weather changing and the sun coming out."

Daddy's Home 2 opened in second place at the box office over the weekend, with a better-than-expected $30 million debut.